It may not seem like it now but winter is on its way. The change in seasons also brings new problems to deal with to keep your cattle performing at their best. Keeping your cattle healthy during the stress of colder winter temperatures can be a pain in the neck. It is also doable.
Cattle health is influenced by many different factors. One of these factors is nutrition. Cattle need to be in a good body condition score in order to produce enough body heat and lessen the effects of cold stress. The environment itself, stress, and exposure to pathogens are also factors.
Health depends on providing proper nutrition to promote a strong immune system. Thin cattle are more vulnerable to the cold and will possibly have weaker immune systems. Here are a few ideas you can think about to give your cattle the best chance to make it through winter.
Protein supplements are often needed during the fall and winter months. This is because during this time most of your tame pasture forages go into dormancy. When this happens things like their protein content will go down.
You can feel it in the air, the days are getting shorter and the weather is getting cooler. It will soon be the time that most producers do their fall processing. They will be running their cows through the chutes and for any spring-born calves they will be weaning them from their mommas.
Nutrition is one of those things that is important year-round. From just putting on weight for the market to reentering the reproduction cycle everything hinges on the cow’s nutritional needs being met. However, meeting these demands can be a little complicated.
What is the proper strategy to develop replacement heifers for my cowherd? This is a question many producers have asked themselves. Developing a replacement heifer is one of the most expensive management decisions a producer will make. Making this decision can have long-term impacts on your herd’s profitability.
Winter this year is going to be a rough time for producers. Worries about the drought and how it has affected forage production have taken a large part of our thoughts. Because of this, there will be limited to no stored forage available to feed cattle this winter.
The fall season can be problematic for a beef producer. As you go into it after a dry, hot summer the entire herd may be stressed. The combination of high heat, short grass, and low water tanks can stress cattle and make them more prone to disease.
Early pregnancy detection with your herd is a tool that producers can use to increase profits. It is of importance for a producer to know early if their replacement heifers or even cows are bred. Knowing this bit of information can save you a lot of money from wasting supplements for cows that are not producing.
Shrinkage is a very real concern when it comes time to sell your calves. This is because it is a reduction in the sales weight, which means a reduction in the price that you will get. Of course, some adjustments in price are common in order to compensate for varying shrinkage and gut fill.
BRD, or bovine respiratory disease, is a general term for any respiratory disease in cattle. There is a range of factors that can cause this disease. The common names normally used for this disease are pneumonia or shipping fever. Stocker and feedlot operations are often where this disease occurs. This is because of the extreme stress that calves are put under from weaning and then being shipped.
